Valentine's day
by Dani Meows
Summary: No longer a one shot! Bella hates Valentine's day, a mysterious present changes that. Edward is forced to examine his feelings for Bella quite closely in the aftermath of Valentine's day. B&E, Twilight AU after the van incident.
1. Chapter 1

**Valentine's Day**

**Timeline: Twilight Au**

**Thank you to all who have reviewed this story or supported it by adding it to your alerts. **

**Extra special thanks to **LilythxCullen ** for her extra special beta job! **

**Valentine's Day:**

Bella Swan let out a frustrated sigh as she made her way to Biology. It was a week until Valentine's Day, and both Mike and Tyler were driving her crazy. She slipped on ice on her way to her truck this morning, spraining her ankle. It was now tightly bound in bandages while she hobbled around on crutches.

To make her day even more special, she had to deal with Edward Cullen. She remembered the lab on Mitosis when they had talked, and she'd thought that perhaps she'd made a friend. _I__know__ better now,_ she thought bitterly, as she sat down next to him at the lab table.

He hated her. He'd saved her from Tyler's car in an unexplainable way, but hadn't spoken to her since the argument they'd gotten into at the hospital. His voice echoed through her mind: _"In that case__…__ I hope you enjoy disappointment."_

She wasn't enjoying it, though. Class started; as always Bella was hyper aware of the boy sitting next to her, even as she ignored him ignoring her. Mr. Banner talked about global warming, while Bella took notes. She tried to pay attention to the lecture, and not the boy sitting next to her.

After class, while Bella was gathering her stuff together to leave, Mike bounded up to her like an eager puppy.

"Bella, will you go on a date with me this Friday, for Valentine's day?" he stammered.

Bella felt horrified, confused, and dismayed all at once.

"No, sorry, I have plans already," she lied badly, hoping that he would believe her.

He did, and his face fell. He looked at her, sadly. He was making her feel bad, like she'd just kicked the puppy in the face. It didn't, however, make her want to accept his date offer.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said as he left.

Edward was looking at her, but as she noticed his attention, he turned away quickly. Bella wondered why he was still here, since normally he was the first one out of the classroom.

Throwing her backpack on her shoulders, Bella muttered to herself about annoying boys, evil holidays sponsored by greeting card companies and stupid shiny Volvo owners.

If she'd looked back over the shoulder, she would have seen an incredible sight: Edward cracking a smile.

The week went by rather quickly. By Valentine's day, Bella was walking on her own accord. However, by Valentine's Day, Bella just wanted to stay home from school: sick for the rest of her life, or at least this horrible day.

She wore black slacks with a black sweater; she took no extra care in her appearance, and avoided all shades of red and pink. She allowed her color choice to reflect her mood: how she hated this accursed holiday.

She spent the day ignoring everyone, succeeding until after lunch. Mike had tried to speak to her, but she'd feigned sleep during lunch. However, during Biology, she'd been unable to keep him away. She'd barely been able to keep the disgust out of her voice as she thanked him for the heart shaped monstrosity. Even knowing that there was chocolate in there didn't make it any better.

She shoved it in her backpack, and ignored Edward's curious stare as the teacher started his lecture.

"I hate this holiday," she muttered. Edward choked on a laugh. The bastard was laughing at her! She gripped her hands to prevent herself from slapping him. Her temper was high, and she desperately wanted to go home and make this accursed day go away.

Class ended, and Bella endured gym, managing to somehow hit Mike in the stomach with a tennis ball. Bella stormed to her locker, vowing that the next person to wish her a "Happy Valentine's Day" was going to die in a series of horrible accidents, culminating in dying in a fire, when she saw it. Inside of her locker was a stuffed mountain lion, with its paws around a lamb. There was a note attached to it, but Bella didn't care about the note right now.

Her rage diminished, her mood lightened, and she laughed. Clutching the stuffed animal to her chest, she shoved her notebook in her locker and walked to her truck.

She drove home, put her stuff in her room, and allowed her mind to wonder who'd placed the animals in her locker and why.

She sat on her bed, unaware of the light golden eyes that watched her from the tree outside of her window, and read the typed note.

_Dear Bella,_

_I saw that Valentine's __Day__ was making you unhappy__ and I just wanted you to smile. I wish I could tell __you__ who I am__ but that would be most unwise. Don't be sad dear Bell__a;__ angels should never be sad._

There was no signature, but Bella couldn't help but smile as she hugged the animal tightly. She let out a small laugh.

Turning around, preparing to go make dinner for Charlie, Bella said to the animals that she'd set on her bed, "The only person I want you to be from is Edward Cullen, but he hates me." Her voice sounded sad.

The vampire sitting in the trees outside her window nearly fell out of the tree as he heard that. "I don't hate you Bella," he whispered softly. He wished for the thousandth time that he was a normal human man so that he could talk to her.


	2. Chapter 2

Valentine's Day part Two: Aftermath

Author's note: Well it's no longer a one shot! I really hope you like this second part as much as y'all liked the first. Anyone willing to beta for me, I've got a longer Bella/Edward story that could use someones loving touch.

Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight, Jacob's howl of pain wouldn't have ruined my favorite scene in eclipse.

Part Two: Aftermath

Edward felt almost giddy as he ran towards his home. Bella wanted the gift that he'd given her anonymously to be from him! That must mean that she liked him right? Despite being able to read the mind of every woman but Bella, Edward still had difficulty understanding them.

But she thought that he hated her. How he longed to tell her that it wasn't so. He longed to talk to her, to share his secrets with her, to take her to his meadow, to kiss her. Edward let his mind drift to a place where he could be with Bella with no threats to her or to his family's secret. Where he could be near her without battling his demonic desire to drink her life's essence dry.

His euphoria wore off as he began to dwell on just how unworthy of her love he was. He wasn't even worthy enough to be her friend. He doubted he was even worthy enough to be in her presence. He didn't want to stay away from her, he wanted to watch her, to solve the puzzle that was her mind.

He wanted to hear her laughter, to see her smile, to smell her scent, to feel the electricity that raced between them when his hands accidentally brushed her smaller ones in biology, to taste the venom that pooled in the back of his throat as the monster within him roared at him to take her. The idea of her dead and cold, chilled him, made him feel grief and sorrow like he hadn't felt ever before. The world without Bella Swan, he didn't want to think of it.

She'd ensnared him with her innocent charms succeeding where so many other women had failed to besot him in the past. Other women had been vain or shallow whereas Bella seemed refreshing, selfless and thoughtful. She seemed so caring and always seemed to go out of the way to be kind to her friends. He was trapped. He was besotted. He was in love?

The thought would have stopped him dead in his tracks, but he'd stopped running home a while ago so that he could stand in the woods alone with his own thoughts.

In love? He was an imbecile, an idiot, a fool. It was lunacy. She was a human. Innocent, sweet, beautiful, breakable Bella. He wanted to drink her blood for crying out loud! A vampire shouldn't love a human girl, shouldn't taint her with his dark desires.

Indecision ate away at his mind, he'd sworn to himself and to his family after saving her from the van, that he would stay away from her. He'd never told anyone that even if it had exposed their secret he would have done it without regret, because his mind had been screaming, "Not her!"

He had to stay away. His family demanded it, his honor demanded it, her very safety demanded it.

It was excruciating to stay away from her. He watched her constantly, at first under the pretense of making sure that she didn't tell anyone the truth about what he'd done when he'd saved her that day, and now he watched her because he couldn't look away. She always did the opposite of what he expected. Was he drawn to her because of her mystery? Because for the first time in is existence he had to puzzle out what someone was thinking rather than relying on his ability to read her very thoughts?

What was it about Bella Swan that drew him in so helplessly?

He began to run once more, unaware of deciding to do so. He was running towards her house, towards the enchantress that had him so throughly under her spell.

He climbed up to the trees, longing to be closer. She was asleep, her breathing even as she slept. How he envied her the joy of being in dreams, the joy of being away from concious thoughts.

He wanted to be closer, he opened her window and stood in her bedroom. He shouldn't do this, it was wrong. He stared at her, longing to run his fingers through her brown hair. The stuffed animal was clutched in her hands, as she shifted, murmuring, "Edward," as she did so.

Was she awake? Had he been caught? To his relief, she was still sleeping. He wasn't caught. Was she dreaming about him? Or was it another Edward that haunted her dreams.

"Edward why do you hate me?" she asked in a sleep garbled voice. Her question struck him with a sorrowful force. It hurt him to know, even though he'd already heard her say it earlier, that she thought he hated her. He didn't want her to think that he hated her. He wanted her to know that he loved her. That he worshipped her.

He made up his mind. He would stay away no longer. Tomorrow he'd walk up to her, apologize and spend time with her. He'd date her, and he'd tell her how he really felt. His secret and rules be damned he was tired of being alone.

Warm hands against his arm, startled him out of his thoughts, causing him to jump. Her voice was confused and thick with sleep, as she asked him, "Edward, what are you doing in my room?"

Her confused brown eyes met his stunned golden ones. He hadn't heard her wake up, he'd thought that he was safe, as he'd gotten lost in his plans to talk to her tomorrow and hadn't been paying the proper amount of attention to her.

"I, um, that is..." he ran suddenly nervous fingers through his bronze hair, tousling it further. What was he going to say to her.

Her brown eyes were inquisitive as she waited for him to stop garbling his explanation. Why didn't she scream? Why didn't she seem afraid by his presence in her room? Why did she seem to feel safe in his presence? Her hair was messy. She was exquisite, in baggy sweats with her hair an unruly mass of brown on the top of her head. How was he supposed to speak when she looked at him with those eyes?

Never in his existence had he been so flustered.

"I don't hate you Bella," he whispered. He leaned in closer to her, mere inches away from those beautiful eyes. The man within him yearned to kiss her, his first kiss, he just knew it would be magical. The monster within him wanted to bite her neck and make her his.

He kissed her softly, gently and briefly. The warmth and softness of her lips against his icy hard ones, the confused joy of her expression, would stay in his mind forever as one of his most cherished memories. He pulled away much to soon, shoving the monster within him deep inside. He would not ever drink the blood that pulsated through the veins of the woman staring at him with red cheeks.

"I don't understand," she said finally.

"Will you come with me? I'll explain everything," Edward asked. His mind was certain, his path was clear. He would tell her the truth about who and what he was, hopefully she wouldn't reject him. He wasn't certain if he could take it as she did.

She nodded her head, making her scent hit him even more strongly. He resisted the urge to attack her, and took her into his arms.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you and I won't allow anything else to hurt you either." he said as he jumped out of the window and began to run to his meadow.

"I trust you," she whispered before she slammed her eyes shut before she made herself sick.

Edward smiled and hoped her trust was enough.


End file.
